Clint Eastwood is hoping to persuade Hollywood renaissance man Tom Cruise to take the lead in his forthcoming remake of A Star Is Born opposite Beyoncé, Deadline reports.

Cruise is just the latest Hollywood A-lister to be attached to the role in what will be the fourth version of the story, which sees a fading star fall in love with a youthful ingenue who begins to eclipse him. He recently completed filming on musical Rock of Ages, in which he plays ageing frontman Stacee Jaxx, so ought not to baulk at Eastwood's plans for a musical take on the project. The veteran film-maker proposes to mimick the direction of the 1976 A Star Is Born, which cast Barbra Streisand alongside Kris Kristofferson and moved the story from the film industry to the music business.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Robert Downey Jr, Eminem, Christian Bale and Mad Men's Jon Hamm have all been under consideration for the male lead role during A Star Is Born's long gestation. Beyoncé walked away from the role at one point due to the delays, but agreed to sign on the dotted line after Eastwood took the director's chair.

The original 1937 version of the film starred Fredric March and Janet Gaynor as an ageing Hollywood actor and the bright young thing he takes under his wing. The film was remade in 1954 with James Mason and Judy Garland. While Hollywood has procrastinated about returning A Star Is Born to the big screen, the French film The Artist, which adopts a similar storyline, recently became the first silent movie in more than 80 years to win an Oscar.

Eastwood will be taking on a musical for the first time as director, but the veteran actor and film-maker has maintained an intense interest in music throughout his career. The last film in which he appeared in front of the cameras, Gran Torino, featured Eastwood crooning over the end credits, and he composed scores for his films Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and Changeling.

Cruise, who is currently shooting the science-fiction film Oblivion for Tron Legacy director Joseph Kosinski, is currently on a career upturn after Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol became the most successful film in the four-movie spy series at the box office earlier this year, as well as attracting strong reviews.